Abbey House

Abbey House, North Quay, Padstow

A house and railings dating from the late 15th century, possibly with earlier origins, extended and remodelled in the 18th and probably 19th centuries. It is listed at Grade II* for its architectural and historical significance.

The building is constructed of slate stone rubble, with the upper part of the front wing timber framed and hung with rag slates. It is roofed in scantle slate with a hipped end to the front wing and gable ends to the left and rear right. The chimneys are brick, comprising axial and end stacks, and probably the remains of a truncated projecting front lateral stack on the front left.

The building has an irregular overall courtyard plan. The late 15th-century front range wing is accompanied by a rear right wing probably dating to the 18th century, a parallel service wing to the rear probably from the 19th century built into a steep slope, and a shallow wing to the rear left, possibly from the 18th century, which partly encloses the fourth side of the courtyard.

The front range appears to be the truncated remains of a first-floor hall built over a full-width unheated basement of two rooms. The shallow front wing takes the form of a three-storey porch with a basement entrance, a straight-flight stair to the ground floor entrance on the left, and an integral newel stair in the right-hand corner containing an internal stair between basement and ground floor, with a window bay above lighting the first floor. The hall was originally open to the roof; the existing first floor was inserted in the late 16th or early 17th century. Coeval with this flooring, the hall was divided into two rooms: the right-hand room heated by an axial stack in the approximately central inserted cross wall, and the left-hand room by a front lateral stack which has been truncated. The hall appears originally to have extended further to the left. The wing to the rear right was probably built as a parlour wing or servants' quarters around the 18th century and contains a complete pantry. The 19th-century service wing to the rear comprises two storeys, built into the steeply sloping bank.

The exterior displays two storeys and a basement with a shallow central wing in the form of a three-storey porch. A truncated projecting front lateral stack stands at the far left, the house probably originally extending further in that direction. The central wing features a chamfered granite door frame with pyramid stops to the basement and a cushed single-light window lighting the internal newel stair to the right. Above is a probably reset Catacleuse stone moulded four-centred arch with carved spandrels and hood mould with carved heads to label stops, above which hangs a 19th-century 20-pane sash lighting the first floor. To the left, a straight flight of steps leads up to the central entrance fitted with a 19th-century horizontal sliding sash; a blocked window visible from the interior has splayed jambs. To the right, a plank door opens to the basement, with a horned 20-pane sash above. The right-hand side elevation displays three windows with 19th-century 16-pane sashes.

The interior retains 18th and 19th-century joinery, including 18th-century two-panel doors and a china cupboard. The structural timbers to the front range are probably 16th century or earlier. The first floor, probably inserted in the late 16th or early 17th century, retains probably original rebated floorboards, a particularly unusual survival. A resited 17th-century door opens to the rear left-hand ground floor room. A granite newel stair is present.

The roof structure of the front wing is of high quality, featuring principals with curved feet and braces resting on a moulded wall plate. A section of moulded rib hangs from the apex in a form similar to that of a waggon roof. In the main range, the principals appear to have curved feet and there is at least one jointed-cruck truss. The principals are morticed at the apices with morticed collars and threaded purlins.

Interior access was not available for inspection at the time of survey in 1987. A full survey should be made before alterations are carried out, as there are probably further interesting features, and those already recorded are of particularly high quality.